Gender row | Man who accused female colleague of 'angry rant on men' told his own behaviour is to blame

A worker, who claimed his female colleague launched an “angry rant on men”, was told by an employment judge that his 'mansplaining' behaviour was a major factor in the dispute.

Jonathan McMurray was pursuing legal action on the grounds of sex discrimination, after an incident at his place of work, the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum, in 2019. He alleged that a female co-worker 'launched into a verbal tirade' and accused him of 'doing the f***ing bloke thing' when he interrupted her while she was giving a guided tour.

McMurray said he merely aimed to assist the woman during a visitor interaction. However, the judge found that the incident was far less severe than the tirade it was initially described as, involving only a quiet comment from the colleague telling McMurray “you are a pain in the a***”.

McMurray’s request for damages was rejected after the judge was informed of his tendency to patronisingly lecture female colleagues on job performance, often offering unsolicited “classroom tips” in an “officious and overbearing manner”.